idea submission agreement

[kimberlyann]

new york
i wrote a letter and sumitted an idea to a publishing company. they have answered by asking me to sign an idea submission agreement. it looks like a standard form but i'm not exactly sure what it means for me. at first glance it looks like i'm signing away all rights to my idea. should i sign it? what does that mean for me in the future if they proceed with my idea?

 

[loku]

Idea submission

There are two main questions here: the first is what is the meaning of the agreement, and the second is what is standard practice in the publishing industry.

You would have to post the entire agreement for anyone to judge it for you. If this is a valuable idea, then you might consider having a copyright specialist look at it and advise you.

As for industry practice, standards differ with each industry as to what rights are normally retained when ideas are submitted.